District graduation rate surpasses State

Columbus, GA- According to a recent release from the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE), the Muscogee County School District (MCSD) has surpassed the state graduation rate for the ninth consecutive year. The District graduation rate has increased to 91.2 percent, an increase of 1.8 percentage points, year-over-year, from 89.4 percent in 2020. This marks the highest graduation rate for the District since the four-year cohort rate has been calculated.

“Despite the many challenges associated with this last year, we congratulate our school communities, graduates, District support teams and families for their hard work and resilience resulting in this historic high grad rate,” said Dr. David Lewis, Superintendent of Education, Muscogee County School District.

The Cohort Rate is calculated using the data from students who graduate from high school within four years as required by the U.S. Department of Education. It is also one of the indicators used in the calculation of the College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI).

Graduation Rate	2018	2019	2020	2021
Muscogee County	88.9	86.1	89.4	91.2
State	81.6	82.0	83.8	83.7
Difference	7.3	4.1	5.6	7.5

In addition to the District-wide increase, several schools continued to see improvements in their cohort rates.

• Four earned their highest cohort graduation rate to date: Carver, Jordan, Northside and Shaw.
• Five achieved graduation rates above 90 percent: Carver, Columbus, Northside, Rainey-McCullers, and Shaw.
• All MCSD High Schools (nine) were above the State average: Carver, Columbus, Hardaway, Jordan, Kendrick, Northside, Rainey-McCullers, Shaw and Spencer.
• Eight maintained or saw an increase in their cohort graduation rate: Carver, Columbus, Hardaway, Jordan, Northside, Rainey-McCullers, Shaw, and Spencer.
• Two schools achieved a 100 percent graduation rate: Columbus and Rainey-McCullers

“The steady improvement in grad rate and positive trends in reducing student subgroup gaps, along with incremental improvements on the SAT and ACT, are indicative of our district’s progress toward excellence and equity of opportunity that are consequential for future student and community outcomes,” said Lewis.

School	2018	2019	2020	2021
Carver	86.3	88.5	92.3	92.3
Columbus	99.3	100.0	100.0	100.0
Hardaway	91.6	89.3	89.6	89.8
Jordan	75.4	69.2	81.1	86.4
Kendrick	87.3	82.6	85.4	84.4
Northside	93.0	94.4	93.5	96.3
Rainey-McCullers	N/A	N/A	100.0	100.0
Shaw	87.9	87.9	91.4	91.8
Spencer	86.2	76.6	83.0	85.2

The mission of the Muscogee County School District is to inspire and equip all students to achieve unlimited potential. For more information, please contact the Office of Communications at 706.748.2034 or communications@muscogee.k12.ga.us.